Specialization Course in Child Psychoanalysis

The child as a subject in the making.

The Specialization Course in Child Psychoanalysis at Academia Enlevo was designed for those who wish to deepen their study of childhood from a psychoanalytic approach. The aim is to understand the child not merely as a set of observable behaviors, but as a subject in the making, shaped by language, bonds, fantasies, affects, symptoms, family, school and culture.

Childhood calls for a listening of its own. Children do not always communicate their suffering through direct speech. Often they speak through the body, through play, through drawing, through silence, restlessness, fear, refusal, learning difficulties or changes in their bond with adults. Child psychoanalysis seeks to understand these manifestations as expressions of a developing psychic life.

This specialization offers a course of study to better understand the child's subjectivity, the role of the family, the function of play, the signs of emotional suffering, developmental impasses, the relationship with school and the ethical care required when working with children.

Academia Enlevo does not present this course as a promise of automatic qualification for clinical work with children, for issuing reports or as a substitute for regulated training. It is a non-degree specialization for in-depth study, focused on child psychoanalysis and on broadening the student's theoretical, ethical and technical repertoire.

What is Child Psychoanalysis?

Child Psychoanalysis is a field of psychoanalysis devoted to understanding the psychic life of the child. It holds that childhood is not merely a biological stage of growth, but a decisive period in the constitution of the subject.

In childhood, the child builds ways of relating, of desiring, of expressing anxieties, of dealing with frustration and of bonding with adults. Many of these responses appear in symbolic forms. Play, for example, can express conflicts, fears, desires, repetitions and attempts at emotional working-through.

The psychoanalytic listening of the child requires attention to what is said and also to what appears in play, gestures, drawings, the body, symptoms, bonds and family relationships. The child never arrives at treatment alone: they are always part of a network of parents, guardians, school, siblings and family history.

That is why studying child psychoanalysis is not studying the child in isolation. It is understanding the child in relation — the relationship with parents, caregivers, school and the world takes part in shaping both suffering and the possibilities for transformation.

Child psychoanalysis should not be confused with quick advice, behavior-control techniques or a promise to fix children. Its purpose is to understand the child as a subject, respecting their singularity, their timing and their place in the family and in culture.

Four ways in.

Each person comes to child psychoanalysis through a different door — a professional fresh start, a calling to listen to children and families, broadening one's practice or the pursuit of excellence. Working with childhood takes more than affection: it takes study, ethics and responsibility.

Career change
For those rebuilding their path who wish to move closer to the field of listening, childhood and mental health, with a foundation for in-depth study and continued training.

A calling to listen
For those with a special sensitivity to children who want to turn that inclination into method, prudence and respect for the child's own timing.

Health, education and human sciences professionals
Psychologists, therapists, physicians, educators, pedagogues, social workers and HR professionals who want to broaden their repertoire in the face of childhood's demands.

Seekers of excellence
For those who know childhood cannot be handled by improvisation and look for structured, ethical training with clear limits.

The program for each path.

For those in a career change

An important step for those rebuilding their path who wish to move closer to the field of listening, childhood and mental health. Child psychoanalysis brings together care, listening, emotional development, family, language and subjectivity.

Working with children demands heightened responsibility — the child is a developing subject and must be protected by rigorous ethics. The course offers structured study and continued training, without promising automatic practice, a full schedule or authorization for restricted professional activities.

For those with a calling to listen

Some people hear what the child cannot say, perceive anxieties and understand that children's behavior carries meaning. But a calling needs to be trained: listening to a child is not just liking children, nor interpreting everything quickly.

The course helps you understand that play can be language, that a symptom can be a message and that the family takes part in the clinical scene. For those who dream of occupying the analyst's chair, childhood is a fundamental field, since many impasses of adult life are rooted in childhood experiences and bonds.

For health, education and human sciences professionals

Psychologists, psychoanalysts, therapists, physicians, educators, pedagogues, social workers and HR professionals often face learning difficulties, behavioral crises, fears, family conflicts, separations and emotional suffering.

Child psychoanalysis offers a way to understand these manifestations without reducing the child to labels. The course does not replace technical training, professional councils or supervision: it works as theoretical and practical deepening to better understand childhood through the psychoanalytic approach.

For seekers of excellence

Childhood cannot be handled by improvisation. Working with children requires appropriate language, sensitive listening, ethical clarity, an understanding of emotional development and attention to parents and guardians.

Academia Enlevo presents the specialization with objective facts: 480 class hours, an RNTP-recognized certificate, an intensive 4-month track and a virtual learning environment. Excellence lies in studying seriously, respecting the child, welcoming the family and recognizing limits.

What you will deepen.

The central objective is to offer an in-depth understanding of childhood from a psychoanalytic perspective, building a repertoire to observe, listen to and think about children's manifestations with greater responsibility. By the end, the student is expected to have deepened their ability to:

• Understand the child as a subject in the making, shaped by language, bonds, fantasy, body, family and culture.
• Recognize the importance of play, drawing and symbolic expression in the psychoanalytic listening of children.
• Study the main signs of emotional suffering in childhood without reducing the child to labels or hasty diagnoses.
• Understand the role of parents, guardians, caregivers and school in the process of listening to the child.
• Reflect on transference, bond and clinical handling in the context of child psychoanalysis.
• Think about childhood from an ethical approach, respecting legal, family and professional limits.
• Distinguish building a theoretical repertoire from authorization to perform acts restricted to regulated professions.
• Develop a more mature listening in the face of the child's emotional, behavioral and symbolic manifestations.

Skills throughout the specialization.

Listening beyond behavior
Children express suffering through speech, but also through the body, play, drawing, silence or changes in the way they relate — the course broadens the view of these manifestations.

Play as language
In child psychoanalysis, play holds a central place: it can reveal fantasies, conflicts, fears, desires and attempts at working-through. Not merely distraction, but symbolic expression.

Attention to the family and guardians
Parents and guardians bring demands, expectations and versions of the child. The course helps you think about listening to the adults without losing the child's subjective place.

Reading children's symptoms
Fear, aggressiveness, regression, learning difficulties, sleep, eating, separation — considered with prudence, without premature diagnoses.

Ethics in working with children
Responsible confidentiality, appropriate communication with guardians, limits of practice, referrals and attention to situations of risk.

Integrating theory and practice
Theoretical foundations linked to common situations in the field of childhood, without turning the child into the object of automatic technique.

How the platform works.

The course takes place in Academia Enlevo's virtual learning environment, with recorded video lessons, support materials, readings, PDFs, books, podcasts, discussion forum, activities, assessments and performance tracking.

The platform lets you organize your study routine within the expected timeframe. Being 100% online, it suits those who need to balance study, work, family, client sessions or educational practice.

The intensive track was structured for completion in 4 months, with the possibility of finishing within up to 1 year, according to the platform's academic rules.

Access to the course is released once the enrollment is confirmed by the banking institution. Bank slips (boletos) and other payment methods may have their own clearing times.

480 hours, certificate and transparency.

The Specialization Course in Child Psychoanalysis has 480 class hours, with an intensive 4-month track and a maximum completion period of up to 1 year. Upon completing the modules and meeting the passing criteria, the student receives a certificate issued by Academia Enlevo, presented as recognized by the RNTP.

This is a non-degree professional specialization course. It is not an undergraduate degree, it is not a lato sensu postgraduate program accredited by the MEC (Brazil's Ministry of Education), and it does not replace higher education, professional registration or the legal requirements of regulated professions.

The course does not, by itself, qualify anyone to issue psychological reports, administer tests, produce technical documents restricted to regulated professions, make diagnoses or replace specialized care.

Professional practice must respect prior training, ethics, current legislation and the full protection of children and adolescents. Academia Enlevo does not promise employment, income, a client caseload or institutional accreditation — it offers study, deepening and continued training.

16 modules, from childhood to the clinic.

Suggested curriculum for the Specialization in Child Psychoanalysis, organized to be consistent with the 480-class-hour workload. It may be updated by the coordination before final publication.

1 new module per week — gradual, guided release.

Therapeutic Immersion.

Therapeutic Immersion is an educational resource aimed at broadening the learning experience. In the context of Child Psychoanalysis, it helps the student reflect on situations involving children, guardians, school, symptoms, communication and ethical decisions.

It does not replace supervised practice, real clinical work, internships or the legal requirements for practice. It works as a teaching aid to stimulate clinical reasoning, reading of context and reflection on consequences — training students who think more responsibly in the face of human complexity.

What the course enables — and what it does not promise.

This course allows the student to deepen their understanding of child psychoanalysis, study the listening of the child, understand play, reflect on children's symptoms and think about the relationship with family and school.

It can contribute to the training of psychoanalysts, psychoanalysis students, mental health professionals, educators, pedagogues, therapists and professionals in the human sciences.

The course does not promise to make you a child psychologist, does not authorize issuing reports, does not allow the administration of psychological tests, does not replace medical, psychological or psychiatric care, and does not guarantee clients, employment, income or accreditation.

The specialization also does not dispense with supervision, personal analysis, continued study, responsible referral and respect for the protection of the child.

Questions about Child Psychoanalysis.